We are no strangers to parenting babies and toddlers and all the responsibilities that come with it and We have gone through most baby and toddler “firsts” at least twice.
But we hit a first this weekend that threw us off our game: Doodle’s first night out of the crib.
It’s a big milestone to move to the “big kid” bed and he has been ready for a while. I even remember when I got my twin daybed with the primary polka-dot sheets (though I was a bit older than Doodle).
We’ve done this transition twice before without any problems. Both girls took to their new beds like fish to water. No drama, no fussing. They both woke up the next morning refreshed and ready for the day, proud of their accomplishment.
I really didn’t expect Doodle’s first night to be much different. But it was.
Honeybun has been begging for her own room (she and Sugarplum have been sharing since we returned from Dublin nearly three years ago). So we decided to let her try sleeping in Doodle’s room and put Doodle in with Sugarplum.
It started off horribly. Whereas both girls laid down nicely, snuggled in their new beds on the first night, Doodle screamed and cried. We finally got him settled and I thought “ok, we’re good now.”
Ha! 12:30 rolls around and he’s screaming. 20 minutes to get him settled back down. 2:30 and he’s up again, this time only 2 minutes (I think he was cold). 6:45 and he’s standing in the middle of the room and when I tell him to lay back down through the monitor he goes over and starts poking at Sugarplum.
So, first night: Fail!
Turns out Honeybun doesn’t want to have her own room and while she did fine all night in Doodle’s room, she wants to go back with Sugarplum. So Doodle is back in his crib until we can get it out of the house (so he doesn’t still see it as “his” when new baby arrives). We will be getting him a regular bed soon and try again in his room.
I know most “experts” say to make one change at a time but with the girls I went for an “all in” approach. Both girls moved from the crib to regular bed when we moved houses. I figured new house, new room why not a new bed? This was our plan for Doodle as well, except the whole moving house thing isn’t working out and he really can’t wait much longer.
How did your kids make the transition? What advice do you have for when we try moving Doodle again? (It will be the FINAL time, I know better than to keep going back and forth!)
I’m not sure what to say other than I wish my almost 4 year old still slept in crib because he didn’t start having night terrors and issues til he switched. We are due to switch our two year old, but I’m afraid to change something that’s not causing trouble! We often wonder how kids will do with room sharing- glad to hear your girls do it peacefully…fingers crossed Doodle’s final change is a peaceful one! Maybe find him a special blanket or friend ( the cool touch Target nightlights are our saviors!) that gets him excited to be in bed?!
Room sharing has been awesome, most of the time! Doodle has his whole arsenal of sleeping “things” and a pretty well set routine, it’s hopefully just going to be getting him used to the new bed, hopefully staying in his same room will help?
I’m struggling with this with my #2 now..he’ll nap and go into his toddler bed, but at night, he only wants to be in one place and that’s Mommy Daddy’s bed! Even when I say time for night night..he runs into our room!! Ay yi yi..but he’s so cuddly…hehe
We are lucky (with this situation) that we never bed shared, I need my space! I kept the babies right next to my bed when they were still feeding at night and when that was done, they were in their own room. I can’t imagine what it is like to transition from mommy’s bed to own bed, good luck!